To be clear, there is no universe where the national conversation should be dominated by questions literal Nazis are asking. And yet, here we are.

Q: When is it appropriate to have a welcome to country ceremony?

Peter Dutton:

[When there] is a significant event like the opening of parliament. The Prime Minister divided this country with The Voice. It was $450 million and he tried to divide us on the basis of heritage and race and I didn’t agree with it and the majority of Australians didn’t agree with it. Australians are respectful towards Indigenous Australians. We are all equal Australians. It is why I believe we should stand behind one flag united to help Indigenous Australians deal with disparity around health outcomes, around education outcomes, around housing, around safety as you have seen up in Darwin. We were only there a couple of days ago, the stabbings that have taken place, the attacks are commonplace. It wouldn’t be accepted in any other part of the country. I want to provide support to practical reconciliation. The Prime Minister’s policy is to please inner city greens which is not something we signed up to.

Dutton’s version of ‘practical reconciliation’ is ‘assimilation’ dressed up in centrist language. It is the exact sort of language used to justify things like the Stolen Generation.